Garbage, rubbish and trash collector and loader



April 5, 1966 J. A. TRAPP GARBAGE, RUBBISH AND TRASH COLLECTOR AND LOADER Filed April 17, 1964 i 1, ZZZ 4 r 1 n, w w a n ai l Tm: \k dw wm n9 INVENTOR. JOHN A. TK PP A I/VE y:

United States Patent O 3,243,834 GARBAGE, RUBBISH AND TRASH COLLECTOR I AND LOADER John A. Trapp, 2531 Leslie, Detroit, Mich. Filed Apr. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 360,686 3 Claims. (Cl. 340) This invention relates to cleaning machinery and, more particularly, to a portable machine or apparatus adapted to be driven along highways, streets and grounds, or areas such as golf courses, for collecting all types of rubbish and debris including not only leaves, twigs, papers, cartons and the like, but also bottles, cans and other heavy articles.

It is known in the art to employ suction type cleaning machinery for cleaning or collecting leaves, papers, bottles and cans. One example of this type of machinery is shown in Hanson Patent No. 2,887,714. It is also known in the art to employ a vacuum type street cleaner which cleaner includes a vehicle which produces suction on a hose positioned near the surface of the street and which blows the collected rubbish into the drawing vehicle. One example of this type of apparatus is shown in Wells, Patent No. 2,496,028. Still another example of cleaning apparatus is disclosed in Hubbart, Patent No. 2,131,398. In the above-mentioned prior art, the cleaning apparatus is mounted on a vehicle which is drawn by a truck or tractor. In the Wells and Hubbart patents the refuse or trash sucked up by the apparatus is blown into the drawing vehicle. In the Hanson patent the rubbish is sucked into a suitable tank within the drawn vehicle. These structures exhibit several disadvantages. For example, these structures are not capable of lifting heavy trash such as bottles and cans and blowing this heavy trash into the drawing vehicle. The principal reason for this inability to handle heavy trash is due to the inability to blow this heavy trash through an elongated pipe. Further, when drawing this-heavy trash into the apparatus, it is possible that it may be drawn in with lighter trash such as paper and leaves. During the circuit of the trash through the blower, however, the centrifugal force on the heavier objects is such as to cause them to separate from the lighter trash and, accordingly, the apparatus must include provision for discharging the heavier trash even if it is not mixed with lighter trash.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved cleaning apparatus.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved cleaning apparatus which is economical to maintain, simple to construct and which is capable of loading garbage onto a separate truck, even if the incorporated suction pump breaks down.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus which is capable of collecting heavy rubbish such as bottles and cans and depositing this heavy rubbish onto a drawing vehicle.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a cleaning apparatus for heavy trash such as bottles and cans which can be continuously operated and need not be removed from service when the trash receptacle is filled.

Briefly, in accordance with aspects of this invention, 1 provide a cleaning apparatus which is mounted on a drawn vehicle and includes a combination of a suction type pickup device and a conveyor coupled to the output of the suction type pickup device, which conveyor delivers the heavy rubbish picked up by the suction device to a drawing vehicle. One advantage of employing a conveyor is the ability to handle larger and heavier objects and to load these heavier objects onto a separate vehicle which loading could not be accomplished with a blower Cit type arrangement. Still another advantage of employing a conveyor is the ability to use manual labor in combination with the conveyor for collecting and loading the trash on a towing vehicle in the event that the blower type intake becomes defective. In other words, if the suction pump became inoperative, the suction line could be dis connected and the garbage could be manually placed on the conveyor, which conveyor would project the trash onto the separate vehicle. Still another advantage of this arrangement is the ability to employ a single engine to drive the suction fan and the conveyor for collecting trash, including heavy articles. Advantageously, this is accomplished by employing an internal combustion engine to drive both the suction pump and the conveyor. Also advantageously, this novel arrangement includes separate means for driving the suction fan, or the intake pump, at a variety of speeds depending upon the type of rubbish to be collected, which variable speed arrangement is independent of the speed of the conveyor.

These and various other objects and features of the in vention will be more clearly understood from a reading of the detailed description of the invention in conjunction with the drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in elevation and in section of one illustrative embodiment of garbage collector appa ratus according to this invention and includes a towing vehicle, only a fragment of which is shown; and

FIGURE 2 is a view in section of the garbage collector of FIGURE 1 taken along the line 2-2 thereof.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is shown a fragmentary view of a truck 10 preferably having a dumping type body 11 and connected in drawing relationship to a collector apparatus 12 according to one illustrative embodiment of this invention. The truck 10 is provided with a towing arm 13 depending from a chassis 14 of the truck 10 and terminating in a bifurcated, double eye portion 15 which receives an eye 16 of a tow bar 17 between the double eye portion 15. A suitable pin 18 passes through the bifurcated eye portion 15 and through the eye 16 in the tow bar 17 in a manner well known in the art. The vehicle 12 includes a chassis or frame 30, the forward end of which terminates in a bifurcated arm 31 coupled to tow bar 17 by means of a pin 32 and on which is rotatably mounted two sets of relatively large wheels 33, 34 by securing the axles 35, 36 to the chassis 30 by means of pairs of U-shaped brackets 37, 38, respectively, only one of each pair being shown. Advantageously, these brackets 37, 38 are secured to the frame 30 by any convenient means such as by welding. The chassis 30 is provided with a forward wheel 40 which is mounted on the chassis 30 by means of pairs of triangularly shaped struts 42. The purpose of the wheel 40 is to support the vehicle 12 after the towing vehicle has had its body 11 filled with garbage and has been disconnected from the vehicle 12. The vehicle 12 is. provided with an inclosing outer housing 43 mounted on the chassis 30 by any convenient means, such as by bolts or by welding. Within the housing 43 is a second or garbage containing inclosure 44 through which the collected garbage is passed to the vehicle 10.

The garbage collection apparatus 12 includes a suction pump, impeller, or fan 45 mounted in a cylindrical housing 46 which is joined to the housing 43 and communicates with the exterior through a cylindrical housing member 47 and which draws garbage and trash in through a flexi ble coupling hose 48. The terminal end of hose 48 is enlarged at 49 and is mounted on a suitable chassis 50 having a set of wheels 51 thereon so that hose 48 maintains a substantially constant spacial relationship between the road surface 52 and the intake portion 49 of the hose 48. Advantageously, within the inner inclosure 44 a conveyor 52 is positioned to receive the garbage discharged from the fan 45. The conveyori52 .includes an endless belt 53 which has a number of longitudinally spaced, transverse members 54 projecting therefrom and which travels over a group of suitable rollers 55, 56 and 57, each rotatably mounted .on one of a group of shafts 59, 60 and 61, respectively. The shafts 59, 69, 61 are parallel and are preferably mounted in a common incline plane. The right-hand end of the inner housing 44, as viewed in FIG- URE l, terminates in an angularly positioned upwardly projecting cylindrical section 63 which projects through the outer housing 43 and terminates in a radially extending annular flange 65, which flange meets with a similar flange 66 of a discharge nozzle 67. The flanges 65, 66 are secured together by means such as bolts as. The discharge nozzle 67 projects over the dump body 11 of the drawing vehicle or truck to discharge the garbage into the vehicle body 11. A gasoline engine 79 is mounted within the outer chamber 43 beneath the inner chamber 44 and is supplied with fuel from a suitable tank 71. A suitable gear shift lever 72 is connected to the gas engine 70 and extends through the outer housing 43 to permit manual shifting of the gears. A group'of controls 73, 74 and 75 is provided on the rear panel of the outer housing 43 for the purpose of starting and controlling the speed of the gasoline engine 70. These controls are coupled to the gasoline engine through suitable wires, not shown. A flashing dome-type light fixture 76 is provided on the top of the outer housing 43 for the purpose of alerting drivers of other vehicles of the presence of a slow-moving vehicle. The garbage pickup vehicle 12 is also provided with a for ward light 78 which may be illuminated when the vehicle 12 is parked during the night-time.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, there is depicted a view in section and in elevation of the vehicle 12 taken along the line 22 of FIGURE 1. In FIGURE 2, the gasoline engine 70 is shown as including a shaft 81 on which is secured a pulley 82. A pulley 83 is secured to the shaft 59 of the roller 55 and is coupled in driven relationship to the pulley 82 by means of a belt 84. A second pulley 85 is secured to the shaft 59 and is coupled in driving relationship to a pulley 86, secured to a shaft 87 by means of a suitable belt 88. The suction fan 45 is secured to shaft 89. The shaft 87 is rotatably mounted and is provided with extra pulleys of different diameter, such as a pulley 90, which is smaller than the pulley 86 and a second pulley 91, smaller than the pulley 99. The purpose of these extra pulleys is to change the speed with which the fan 45 is driven relative to the speed of the belt 53 without modifying the speed of engine 70. The shaft 59 is also provided with an extra pair of pulleys 92, 93 to which the pulley 86 is shifted when it is desired to drive the pulley 90 or 91, respectively. Thus the speed of the fan 45 can be greatly increased without modifying the speed of the conveyor belt 53. Advantageously, a clutch 94 is provided between the pulley 86 and the shaft 89 for the purpose of selectively disconnecting the fan 45 and this clutch may be manually actuated or disconnected by means of a handle 95 projecting through the outer housing 43.

In accordance with one important aspect of this invention, the garbage pickup vehicle 12 may be employed to load the tow truck 10 even if the fan breaks down. Under these conditions, the pickup hose 48 is disconnected and the clutch 94 is disconnected. and the garbage may be manually introduced into the cylindrical housing member 47-from where it will fall on to the fan 45 and then on to the conveyor belt 53 where it will be projected through cylindrical section 63 and nozzle 67 on to the body 11 of the drawing vehicle 10. Because the conveyor belt 53 is moving at a relatively rapid rate and because it contains transverse, raised retaining members 54 along its length,

heavy garbage such as bottles and cans and stones and sticks will be hurled from the end of the conveyor belt through the discharge passage 63 and through the discharge nozzle 67 onto the vehicle 16. Thus, even though he blower or fan becomes inoperative, the apparatus nevertheless exhibits utility and may be operated without a complete loss of function.

While 1 have shown and described one illustrative embodiment of this invention, it is understood that the concepts thereof may be employed in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of this invcntion.

Vihat is claimed is:

1. A cleaning apparatus comprising: a vehicle including a chassis and a plurality of wheels mounted thereon; an outer housing mounted on said chassis; an inner garbage receiving housing disposed within said outer housing; an impeller housing disposed between said housings at an end of said outer housing, said impeller housing having a garbage receiving inlet externally of said outer housing and an outlet entering into said inner housing, an impeller within said housing, said impeller having an axis normal to said impeller housing inlet and outlet, said impeller having a plurality of paddles, said paddles acting to move garbage from the inlet of said impeller housing to the interior of said inner housing; an engine mounted in said outer housing and connected to said impeller for driving the same; a discharge conduit connected to said inner housing at an end of said inner housing opposite to the position of said impeller and. projecting outwardly beyond said outer housing; and, conveyor means drivably connected to said engine and being driven by said engine and positioned in said inner housing to receive garbage from said impeller and for projecting the same through said discharge conduit.

2. A cleaning apparatus as defined. in claim 1 wherein: the inlet of said impeller housing is adapted to cooperatively receive a material gathering hose so as to glean material from a point distant from said inlet, said impeller being driven by said engine to create a suction sufiicient to draw material into the hose and into the inlet of the impeller housing.

3. A cleaning apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein: said engine has a power take-off means mounted at one end thereof, said power means having a series of diverse size power transmission means connected to the power take-off end thereof; means interconnecting said power transmission means and said impeller; and, control means for operatively connecting and disconnecting said impeller means, said connecting means, and one of said series of power transmission means, such that said conveyor means may be operated, by said engine, independently of said impeller, and said conveyor and said impeller may be operated at a plurality of different speeds relative to each other.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 892,260 6/1908 Huber 15-348 1,085,676 2/1914 Finch 15-349 2,198,322 4/1940 Von Schrader 15--320 X 2,969,557 1/1961 Petersen 15-320 X FOREIGN PATENTS 2,925 2/1910 Great Britain. 486,505 6/ 1938 Great Britain. 597,038 8/1959 Italy.

ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CLEANING APPARATUS COMPRISING: A VEHICLE INCLUDING A CHASSIS AND A PLURALITY OF WHEELS MOUNTED THEREON; AN OUTER HOUSING MOUNTED ON SAID CHASSIS; AN INNER GARBAGE RECEIVING HOUSING DISPOSED WITHIN SAID OUTER HOUSING; AN IMPELLER HOUSING DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID HOUSING AT AN END OF SAID OUTER HOUSING, SAID IMPELLER HOUSING HAVING A GARBAGE RECEIVING INLET EXTERNALLY OF SAID OUTER HOUSING AND AN OUTLET ENTERING INTO SAID INNER HOUSING, AN IMPELLER WITHIN SAID HOUSING, SAID IMPELLER HAVING AN AXIS NORMAL TO SAID IMPELLER HOUSING INLET AND OUTLET, SAID IMPELLER HAVING A PLURALITY OF PADDLES, SAID PADDLES ACTING TO MOVE GARBAGE FROM THE INLET OF SAID INPELLER HOUSING TO THE INTERIOR OF SAID INNER HOUSING; AN ENGINE MOUNTED IN SAID OUTER HOUSING AND CONNECTED TO SAID IMPELLER FOR DRIVING THE SAME; A DISCHARGE CONDUIT CONNECTED TO SAID INNER HOUSING AT AN END OF SAID INNER HOUSING OPPOSITE TO THE POSITION OF SAID INPELLER AND PROJECTING OUTWARDLY BEYOND SAID OUTER HOUSING; AND, CONVEYOR MEANS DRIVABLY CONNECTED TO SAID ENGINE AND BEING DRIVEN BY SAID ENGINE AND POSITIONED IN SAID INNER HOUSING TO RECEIVE GARBAGE FROM SAID IMPELLER AND FOR PROJECTING THE SAME THROUGH SAID DISCHARGE CONDUIT. 